Apparatus for forming articles of hollow ware made of pyroxylin compounds.



Patented Mar. 5, l90l. c. H. THURBER.

APPARATUS FOR ronmma ARTICLES or nouow WAREMADE or PYROXYLIN comPouuus.

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60 mm MSW No. 669,330. Pa tented Mar. 5, mm. c. H. THURBER.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING ARTICLES 0F HOLLOW WARE MADE OF PYROXYLIN COMPOUNDS.

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P I INVENTOR f/WW. 4 M WZMM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES .11. THURBER, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE CELLULOID COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING ARTICLES F HOLLOW WARE MADE OF PYROXYLIN COMPOUNDS.

SPEGIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,330. dated March 5, 1901. Application filedNovemher 28, 1900. Serial No- 37.999. kN o model.)

To (all whom, it nuty concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. THURBER, acitizen of the United States, residing in East Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement 1n Apparatus for Forming Arti-' cles of Hollow Ware Made of Pyroxylin Compounds Similar toOelIuloid, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings for purposes of illustration.

Ileretofore in the manufactureof boxes or other articles of hollow ware made fr'om these compounds it has been the practice to form them into the desired shape by means of dies, the female die being closed at the bottom and into which the male die or plunger pressed in forming the article. This necessitates the withdrawal of the plunger after each operation and lifting the article out of the female die before another article can be formed.

The object of myinvention is to provide an apparatus by which the process of forming such articles is practically continuous and saves the time required to lift the article outof the female die, as heretofore.

My apparatus is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which- Figure l is a view, partly in perspective and partly in section, of the device before the sheet or blank of the material to be formed into the article has been placed in position. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the device after the sheet or blank of material has been placed in position and when the plunger is about to descend. Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the device after the plunger has descended to a point a little below the draw-plate and is about to out the article from the sheet. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the apparatus when the plunger has descended to the full limit of its stroke.

Referring to Fig. l, T is the top steamtable of the press, to, which the plunger P is secured and which reciprocates back and forth through the action of mechanism which it is not necessary to describe, as it is well understood and forms no portion of my in- 5&- vention. The plunger P'is provided with the cutting edge 0 in the usual manner to out the article from the sheet during the descent of the plunger. 6

D is the diaphragm steam-table and which also reciprocates back and forth in the usual manner by mechanism not shown.

A is the bed of the press,in which is inserted the draw-plate 13, the opening through this draw-plate corresponding in shape to the periphery of the article to be formed.

0 is the chilling-plate,the opening in which also corresponds in shape to the periphery-of the article "to be formed and which is. separated from the draw-plate B and the bed A by a sheet of asbestos a or other material which is a non-conductor of heat and also, preferably, by the stripping-plate I), preferably placed below the sheet ct.

The steam-table T, the diaphragm D, and 7c the bed A of the steam-table press are'provided with steam-passages s to heat them in the ordinary manner, and the chilling-plate O is provided with the cold-water passages w in the customary manner.

The sheet or blank (1 of material to be formed is shown in Fig. 2 in its position before the plunger descends and in 3 and 4 after the plunger has descended.

The operation of my device is as follows:

When the apparatus is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the sheet or blank of material is placed upon the bed A of the steam-table press and across the opening in the drawplate B. The diaphragm D then descends and holds the sheet or blank of material din position, as shown in Fig. 2. The plunger P then descends upon the heated sheet or blank d and forces it through the heated draw-plate B into the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Atthis point the cutting edge 0 cutsthe heated article from the sheet or blank, and the further descent of the plunger carrice the article thus formed downinto the opening through the'ohilling-plate C, where it is chilled and set, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This openin'gin the chillingdrawings) is designed to strip the formed article from the plunger as the plunger rises, and I prefer this construction of the apparatus; but. it is not essential, for ordinarily the friction between the formed article and the sides of the barrel in the chilling-plate C will be sufficient to strip the article from the plunger as the plunger rises. I have illustrated the opening in the d raw-plate B as having a rounded upper edgein order to prevent tearing the sheet of material or blank as the plunger descends, and I have illustrated the opening in the chilling-plate C as having a rounded upper edge to facilitate the action of the stripping-plate in stripping the article from the plunger, and I prefer such construction, although it is not essential to the operation ofmy device. The length of the barrel in the chilling-plate 0 should be varied according to the thickness of the sheet or blank of materialto be "formed or the depth of the article, a thicker sheet of material or a deeper article requiring greater length of barrel in the chilling-plate'to cool it than is required with a thinner sheet or blank of material or shallower article.

I have described and illustrated the plunger Pas provided witlta cutting edge, whereby the cutting of the article from a larger sheet or blank of material and its formation are performed by a single downward stroke of the plunger; but it is obvious that this cutting edge may be omitted and that blanks of material previously cut to the size required to make the article may be successively placed upon the table of the press over the opening in the draw-plate and formed into articles by the action of the plunger in'forcing the blank through the barrels in the draw-plate and chilling-plate.

It will be readily perceived that if the formed article should not drop through the barrel of the chilling-plate by its own weight after the withdrawal of the plungersubsequeut descent of the plunger in forming a successive article will force it out. In some cases, where the article is formed from .very thin sheets or blanks which are sufiiciently heated by the hollow ware made of pyroxylin compounds,

the combination of, first, a heated plunger having its acting end shaped like the interior of the article to be formed; second, ahcated draw-plate having an .open channel shaped like the exterior contour of the article to be formed; and, third, a chilling-plate having an open channel shaped like the exterior contour of the article to be formed; arranged and operated substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for forming articles of hollow ware made of pyroxylin compounds,

the combination of, first, a heated plunger havingits acting end shaped like the interior of the article to be formed; second, a heated diaphragm; third, a heateddraw-plate, and,

fourth, a chilling-plate, said diaphragm, drawplate and chilling-plate each having an open channel shaped like the exterior contour of the article to be formed, arranged and operated substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for forming articles of hollow ware made of pyroxylin compounds, the combination of, first, a heated plunger having its acting end shaped like the interior of the article to be formed; second, a heated draw-plate; third, a stripping-plate; and, fourth,a chilling-plate; said draw-plate, stripping-plate, and chilling-plate each having an open channel shaped like the exterior cont-on r of the article to be formed; arranged and operated substantially as describe 4. In an apparatus for forming articles of hollow ware made of pyroxylin compounds,

the combination of, first, a heated plunger having its acting end shaped like the interior of the article to be formed; second, a heated diaphragm; third, a heated draw plate;

fourth, a stripping-plate; and, fifth, a chillingchannel shaped like the exterior contour of.

the article to be formed, arranged and operated substantially as described.

CHARLES H. THURBER.

Witnesses:

ROBERT OADDooK, ALBERT W. HARRIS. 

